India remains world's largest arms importer

NEW DELHI: India continues with its embarrassing trudge on the world stage as the largest arms importer, which also makes it strategically vulnerable. A global thinktank on Monday said India's weapons imports are now three times larger than its neighbours China and Pakistan as well as cash-rich Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The latest data on international arms transfers released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows India accounted for 15% of the global arms imports from 2010 to 2014. "Between 2005-2009 and 2010-2014, India's arms imports increased by 140%. In 2005-2009, India's imports were 23% below China's and just over double those of Pakistan," SIPRI said.

There is nothing new in India's dubious distinction of being the largest arms importer due to its abject failure to build a strong defence industrial base (DIB), as repeatedly reported by earlier. But the figures do show how China has got its act together to assiduously build a stronger DIB, often by reverse-engineering, to also emerge as the third largest arms exporter. While Pakistan (41%), Bangladesh (16%) and Myanmar (12%) are its three biggest clients, China also exported arms to 18 African countries.

In sharp contrast, India continues to grapple with a fledgling DIB, importing 65% of its military hardware and software. India has spent Rs 1,03,536 crore ($16.72 billion) in direct payments to foreign armament companies in the last five years, while exporting arms worth a paltry Rs 2,644 crore ($426 million) in the same time.

Military supplies and infrastructure-building are key to China's expanding strategic footprint in both India's immediate neighbourhood as well as in Africa. India, however, cannot even equip its own armed forces properly, leave alone use military aid to influence others.

India has spent over $120 billion on arms acquisitions over the last 15 years, and will spend another estimated $120 billion in the coming decade, as reported by TOI earlier. Despite the Modi government's tom-tomming of the 'Make in India' policy over the last 10 months, there is little to show on the ground in terms of concrete action till now.

The SIPRI figures show India is the largest arms client for both Russia and Israel. The three largest suppliers to India are Russia (70%), the US (12%) and Israel (7%). But government figures show the US has actually overtaken Russia as the largest defence supplier in the last three years, notching sales worth Rs 32,615 crore as compared to Russia's Rs 25,448 crore.